Asteroid the size of a house to pass by Earth TODAY

An asteroid the size of a house approaches Earth today, followed by two other smaller celestial bodies.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has issued a warning for the three asteroids, the nearest of which will be within 300,000 kilometers of Earth – 78,000 kilometers closer than the moon is currently to us.

The size and proximity of the asteroids could provide astronomers with a unique research opportunity as they work to create a defense system that will prevent future space rocks from hitting Earth.

Three asteroids are heading toward Earth’s orbit, and NASA predicts one will pass closer than the moon

The smallest asteroid, called 2024 TA12, measures about 4.5 meters and will pass between the Earth and the moon.

Meanwhile, a bus-sized asteroid called 2021 TK11 and 2024 TH3 – about the size of a house – will approach Earth from 3.9 million kilometers and 4.5 million kilometers away, respectively.

However, NASA has confirmed that the asteroids will not come close enough to our planet and ‘therefore do not pose a risk of impact’.

These asteroids are categorized as Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) because they come within 120 million miles of the Sun thanks to the gravity of other nearby planets.

As more asteroids are observed, the accuracy with which astronomers can predict where an object will be years or decades into the future improves dramatically.

The asteroids are also called Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) because they are within 190 million kilometers of the Sun

This means researchers can more accurately determine whether asteroids will approach or collide with Earth, preventing another catastrophe like the one that wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago.

While none of the approaching asteroids pose a major threat, NASA is preparing for a worst-case scenario by studying NEOs.

NASA established its Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO) in 2016 to locate, track and better understand comets and asteroids “that could pose an impact hazard to Earth.”

The agency developed the Near-Earth Object Surveyor (NEO Surveyor) space telescope, which will be launched in 2027 to discover and characterize potentially hazardous asteroids that come within 50 million kilometers of Earth’s orbit.